A hard-nosed and physical safety that is comfortable coming up and defending the run in the box. Is a head hunter at times and can come up and deliver the pop to the ballcarrier. Also is able to deliver hits over the middle that can separate receiver from the ball and prevent catch. Has good closing burst and willing to meet the ballcarrier in the hole at the point of attack. Has nice speed in pursuit. His straight-line burst allows him to make stops after the catch and break up passes over the middle. Comfortable working in centerfield. Able to get the jam against the tight end and has decent enough hips to turn and run with most guys he faces. Comfortable blitzing off the edge as well.

CONS:

Undersized despite his hard-nosed playing style. Will roll off tackles in pursuit, and not always able to fill the hole against a bigger back at the point of attack. Needs to be a more consistent wrap tackler, trying to deliver hits too often. Doesn't always see what he's hitting, leading to missed tackles. Will take some poor angles from time to time in pursuit. Can struggle to avoid blocks on the edge when playing in the box and gets blown up at times by the lead blocker. Will bite on play fakes and doesn't always play the ball in the air, looking for the big hit. Doesn't have great hips and not a guy that is going to shut down any decent receiver. Will draw unnecessary penalties because of his overly aggressive nature.

OVERVIEW:

Pleasant is a tough, hard-nosed safety that is a good hitter, and is a competent run defender and in coverage. He's not a guy that is going to make a lot of plays in coverage, but he's generally in a good position to not give up too many plays. He's the type of guy that won't prevent the receiver most times from making the grab, but he'll at least make the stop limiting his ability to make yards after the catch. He plays strong safety for Oregon, but might project better as a free safety at the next level. He began his career as a linebacker before moving to safety as a junior. He was driving a car during his redshirt freshman year where he was street racing and got into an accident. He needed 75 stitches in his head.

- missed 1 game in 2011 with a knee injury- missed 1 game in 2008 due to head injury suffered in car accident

NFL FORECAST:

Pleasant should be able to fill a nice depth role at the next level, with the potential to develop into a competent starter. He'll never be a stud as a starter because he doesn't make enough plays in coverage to really be an impact player there. But he's a fairly smart defender that can handle playing either safety spot at the next level. I think he's probably a better fit as a free safety because of his lack of ideal size as a strong safety. More than likely, he'll come to a team impact quickly on special teams and carve out a nice reserve role. With some time and development, he could be plugged in as a stopgap starter for a couple of seasons. But he's not going to be great there. The player he sort of reminds me of is a bigger, more physical version of Thomas DeCoud. Like DeCoud, he's more of a run-defending free safety than anything else. And like DeCoud, he can be competent in coverage. But I don't think Pleasant has DeCoud's speed or range in coverage when working in centerfield. Like DeCoud, Pleasant probably won't be a great starter, and the longer he starts the more his limitations are exposed. But he's competent and if a team was forced to start him for a year or two, it wouldn't be terrible. Put him beside a good safety, and he'd do well. But he's the type of guy that if he's a starter, a team will be constantly looking to replace him. And because of the nature of the position he plays, its likely that Pleasant will have his rookie contract expire and then will become a journeyman. A guy that is good enough to play as a reserve for most teams, but won't stick long-term because he's mainly a special teams player.

ATL FORECAST:

Pleasant can play in Atlanta, because he's versatile enough to be a reserve at both safety spots. At least here, he'd likely be a reserve behind Moore at strong safety. He could eventually develop into a solid No. 3 safety on the Falcons and be a guy if/when Moore or DeCoud are hurt, you'd be comfortable plugging in and playing for a couple of games as a starter. There is some potential that he could push DeCoud for the starting free safety job down the road, but even if he was to win it, it's not like he'd be a major upgrade. He's a good hitter that is competent in coverage, but not good which is also the main weakness of DeCoud's game. And unless he earned that starting spot, Pleasant might be hard-pressed to get a second contract from the Falcons, unless he became one of their fiercest special teams players.

VALUE:

Pleasant can add depth to almost any team at either safety spot, and thus would merit a sixth round or so pick.

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